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BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- A groundbreaking ceremony for the permanent headquarters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was held on Friday in Beijing.
The headquarters will be located in the north of Beijing, between the Olympic Forest Park and the iconic Bird's Nest Stadium, with construction expected to be completed by the end of 2019, the bank said in an online statement.
Speaking at the ceremony, AIIB President Jin Liqun said,"This Bank sets out to be lean, clean and green, and there is no better site in Beijing to highlight our green commitment than alongside the beautiful Olympic Forest Park."
The AIIB has been using temporary offices on downtown Beijing's Financial Street since beginning operations in January.
Jin expects the headquarters to serve as a new city landmark and provide a solid foundation for the bank's development.
The first chairman of the AIIB board of governors and Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei and Mayor of Beijing Wang Anshun attended the ceremony.
The AIIB is a not-for-profit bank initiated by China and supported by a wide range of countries and regions. With authorized capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars, it aims to provide financing for infrastructure improvement in Asia.
In June, the bank approved its first four loans, totaling 509 million dollars, to fund power, housing and transportation projects in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
